Scottish Parliament

Written Answers

Thursday 27 January 2000

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to access available EU "agrimoney" funds for Scottish farmers.

Ross Finnie: Scottish farmers will receive £15 million in agrimonetary compensation later this year. I am giving careful consideration to the claims for further agrimonetary compensation in close consultation with the other UK Agriculture Ministers. Scotland could not go it alone on this issue.

Agriculture

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider introducing a scheme whereby pig farmers who took out loans to comply with welfare regulations could receive some form of debt relief.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has no plans to introduce such a scheme. The very tight EU pigs regime and State Aid constraints which apply to this sector severely limit the scope for providing any direct aid unless, for example, associated with an exceptional occurrence.

  I believe the debt relief measures which the Republic of Ireland proposes to introduce for some of its pig farmers is based on the very special circumstances of the fire at the Ballymoney pig processing plant.

Agriculture

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total value is of financial assistance that has been provided in Scotland for each of the past five years to the pig industry.

Ross Finnie: The CAP pigs regime does not provide direct support to pig farmers. This sector does benefit indirectly through EU funded private storage aids and export refunds, although the benefit to the Scottish industry cannot be accurately quantified.

  The following table lists offers of known financial support which have been made to this sector over the past five years.

  Offers of financial assistance made to the pig industry 1995-1999 (£’000s)

  


1995 

  

1996 

  

1997 

  

1998 

  

1999 

  



547 

  

578 

  

100 

  

319 

  

3,100

Agriculture

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that sufficient supplies of products used to treat sheep ectoparasiticides are available in the short term given the plans to recall organophosphate dips by the end of January.

Ross Finnie: There are alternatives to OP sheep dip ectoparasiticides in the form of synthetic pyrethroid dips and non OP pour-ons and injectibles. Looking to the longer term, a major programme of research into alternative strategies to control ectoparasites is being funded.

Agriculture

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce legislation on the tying of cattle and, if so, whether it will consult with representatives of the veterinary profession on the detail of this.

Ross Finnie: Legislation is already in place which prohibits the tethering of calves. For adult cattle, draft Regulations on the Welfare of Farmed Animals will bring into force Council Directive 98/58/EC which sets out general requirements on the welfare of livestock. These Regulations will require that the freedom of movement of animals should not be restricted in such a way as to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury; and that animals continuously or regularly tethered will have to be given the space appropriate to their physiological or ethnological needs. Wide consultation, which included the veterinary profession, has already been undertaken in respect of these draft Regulations.

Agriculture

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to compel the use of alternatives to organophosphates in the treatment and prevention of sheep scab.

Ross Finnie: OP sheep dips have been withdrawn from the market so that containers, which are safer for the user, can be designed and introduced. It does remain an offence under the Sheep Scab Order 1997 not to treat animals visibly affected by sheep scab and keepers of sheep are responsible for applying effective treatment to animals known to be affected and to take appropriate steps to avoid infestation.

British-Irish Council

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the First Minister whether he will outline the future programme of work of the British-Irish Council and, in particular, the role that the Scottish Executive will play in it.

Donald Dewar: The first meeting of the British-Irish Council identified an initial list of issues for early consideration by the Council. With the National Assembly for Wales, the Scottish Executive is taking lead responsibility for the Council’s consideration of one of these: social inclusion. The Council’s next summit will take place in Dublin, in June this year, when the main item for discussion will be drugs.

  We will of course have the opportunity of a full debate on the British-Irish Council next week.

Children

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any figures are available to demonstrate any effect which local projects, such as breakfast clubs, have in improving the health and development of primary school children in Glasgow.

Mr Sam Galbraith: No systematic information on this is available centrally, although anecdotal information suggests that children who eat breakfast regularly are healthier and do better at school than those who arrive for lessons hungry.

Children

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to encourage the establishment of breakfast clubs if they are proven to be beneficial to the health and development of primary school children in Glasgow.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Breakfast club facilities are already available in a number of schools in Glasgow and other parts of Scotland, and this will provide valuable experience which can be drawn on where further clubs are to be established. The Scottish Community Diet Project, funded by the Scottish Executive, will be developing a toolkit to assist those schools who wish to set up breakfast clubs.

Co-operatives

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to support the development and maintenance of co-operative initiatives in Glasgow.

Ms Wendy Alexander: In our efforts to strengthen the social economy in Glasgow and throughout Scotland we are encouraging Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to offer enhanced support and advice to co-operatives and other social and community-based enterprises as well as to mainstream business. Representatives of the Scottish Enterprise Network recently met to discuss support for co-operative businesses and are now considering what further role SEN and local enterprise companies could play in this area.

Domestic Abuse

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to monitor, and acknowledge in future funding, the support that Glasgow’s Women’s Aid groups and other organisations working with abused women in Glasgow provide to women from outwith Glasgow.

Jackie Baillie: Funding for local women's aid groups is the responsibility of local authorities. The Scottish Executive has no plans at present to disburse funds directly to local groups. The Scottish Executive recognises that individual circumstances, often for reasons of safety, require women seeking refuge to be placed outwith their usual area of residence.

Drugs

Ms Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to further the strategy on drugs and, in particular, what role the Drug Action Teams will play.

Angus MacKay: The Executive has made significant progress in implementing Tackling Drugs in Scotland: Action in Partnership . Officials are currently drawing up a Drugs Action Plan for publication which will highlight areas being tackled and to hold the Executive to account. I announced last week a further £2 million to tackle drug misuse in communities, an additonal £1 million for Scotland Against Drugs and the setting up of a specialist effectiveness unit within the Executive. Further work is also underway on research, prevalence and information.

  The Drug Action Teams are addressing the National objectives at a local level and we have a reporting and accountability framework in place so that progress can be monitored by the Executive. We have also doubled their funding to over £1 million to support them in that work.

Education

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will report on its progress in reducing class sizes.

Mr Sam Galbraith: : We are making excellent progress. Under regulations made in April 1999, P1 classes with a single teacher may not have more than 30 pupils this academic year. Two schools have been granted temporary exemptions and we are holding an application from a third authority.

  From August 2000 this limit will apply to P2 and from August 2001 to P3. By 2001 we will have achieved our target of all children in P1-P3 being taught with a maximum ratio of 30 pupils to every teacher.

Education

Janis Hughes (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what new measures are being taken to address school exclusions.

Peter Peacock: A wide range of initiatives are being developed by education authorities to tackle exclusion. These developments are supported by funding from the Scottish Executive under the Alternatives to Exclusion initiatives. £5 million was allocated this year, rising to £8 million in 2000-01 and £10 million in 2001-02.

  In January the Executive held a Conference on exclusion attended by 90 representatives from local authorities to discuss progress and to spread best practice.

Education

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on adult literacy in Scotland in each of the last five years and what the projected figures are for the next year.

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff were employed in community adult education in each of the last five years, and what the projected figures are for the next year.

Henry McLeish: This information is not held centrally.

Education

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what it would understand to be a safety risk under the terms of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 section 51 as amended.

Peter Peacock: Section 51(2C) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, provides that in considering the provision of school transport, education authorities must have regard to the safety of pupils. The provision does not seek to define what constitutes safety in this context. What constitutes a safety risk depends on the circumstances of particular cases and it is for the authorities to consider which circumstances should be taken into account. Ultimately, it would be for the Courts to determine whether an authority had reasonable regard to safety in the circumstances of a case.

Employment

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many full time equivalent posts, if any, will be lost in Scottish local government, by local authority, as a result of the recently announced local government financial settlement for 2000-01.

Mr Frank McAveety: I would refer Mr Gibson to the reply given to Mr Harding on 13 January in response to question S1W-3488.

Employment

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what studies, if any, have been conducted into the impact on employment following the construction of an out-of-town retail development.

Sarah Boyack: The former Scottish Office published research into the impact of Edinburgh’s Gyle Centre, in July 1996. This covered retail and transport effects as well as the impact on employment.

Employment

Paul Martin (Glasgow Springburn) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps will be taken to tackle high unemployment levels in Glasgow.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Glasgow benefits from a comprehensive package of measures designed to match people to jobs and jobs to people. New Deal, Skillseekers and Modern Apprenticeships are helping Glasgow’s young and long-term unemployed into work. These national initiatives will soon be complemented by the start up of Scotland’s only Employment Zone. Between April 2000 and March 2002, the Zone will help 4,600 people who have been unemployed for 18 months or more and are in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance to get back into the labour market.

  The city’s key players recognise the role they must play and have signed up to "Creating Tomorrow’s Glasgow", a city-wide strategy under the auspices of the Glasgow Alliance, which commits partners to work together to generate sustainable economic growth, create jobs and develop a competitive workforce. Key objectives include: reinforcing the joint Business Location Service which seeks to maintain the city’s market leadership in telephone-based business; positioning the city as a key inward investment location for software, biotechnology and advanced engineering; and attracting industry to the city by identifying a number of strategic sites for development.

Enterprise

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will take any steps to reduce regulation of small businesses and, if so, what steps it will take.

Henry McLeish: The Improving Regulation in Scotland Unit will pursue business concerns about the burden of regulation and will work closely with small business representative groups to ensure that the particular needs of small businesses are kept to the forefront of policy making throughout the Executive. My officials in the IRIS Unit will soon be arranging the first of a series of meetings I plan to have with business across the country to hear at first hand about the regulatory problems they are encountering.

Enterprise

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce a similar body in Scotland to the American body "The Small Business Administrator".

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive has no plans to introduce in Scotland a body similar to the Small Business Administration in the United States of America. Public sector support for small businesses in Scotland is delivered primarily through Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and we are currently reviewing the existing Enterprise Network in Scotland. We will also give careful consideration to any recommendations which emanate from the inquiry into Scotland’s local economic development services by the Scottish Parliament’s Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee. The Executive is determined to ensure that public sector support for business in Scotland meets the needs of the 21st century.

Enterprise

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has taken and will take in order to achieve the target of creating 100,000 new businesses in Scotland by 2009.

Henry McLeish: Wider national economic performance is likely to be the main determinant of trends in small business creation and the prospects for the Scottish economy remain good. However we have also been working closely with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to improve the availability, consistency and quality of support for people wishing to start a business.

  A number of positive measures are in hand: improvements to the Scottish Enterprise Network through the establishment, from April, of a single brand in the network and new programmes on start-up and small business support; work by Scottish Enterprise to review the Business Birth Rate Strategy to further encourage entrepreneurship and start-ups – including from non-traditional sources, like women and youth; and the continuation of local events under the Personal Enterprise Campaign. We have also set increased targets for number of start-ups assisted by the Enterprise Network, and are working to improve the availability of website based business support. New start-ups with growth potential also have access to support from the £12 million Business Growth Fund and, from April, to our new national mentoring scheme – Business Mentoring Scotland.

  This represents a significant contribution by the Scottish Executive to improve Scotland’s performance in business creation.

Enterprise

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses there were in Scotland at the time of publication of Making it Work Together , and of them, how many were (a) small, and (b) large and what its estimate is of these figures for each of the next ten years.

Henry McLeish: The latest estimates available for the number and size of businesses in Scotland are for November 1998. At that time there were an estimated 299,110 enterprises operating in Scotland. Of these, 293,705 were small enterprises (0-49 employees), 3,275 were medium-sized enterprises (50-249 employees) and 2,130 were large enterprises (250+ employees).

  Further details are available in a Government Statistical Service News Release which was published on Wednesday 26 January 2000. A copy is available in SPICe.

  The Scottish Executive does not make statistical projections for the number of businesses operating in Scotland in future years.

Enterprise

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that existing arrangements provide sufficient access for small businesses to unsecured long term development finance and, if not, whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government to investigate the possibility of setting up a new business bank to provide small businesses with access to loans at rates significantly better than high street banks.

Henry McLeish: The public sector currently provides, or contributes to, a range of small business finance schemes in circumstances where a discernible market failure can be identified. Most recently we established the £12 million Business Growth Fund to provide loans to small businesses with potentially viable proposals but unable to access sufficient funds from established sources – for example because of a lack of sufficient security or a limited track record. Some £2 million in loans has already been offered under the scheme and we will be evaluating its success in meeting this perceived gap in the funding market.

  The need for additional funding measures to support small business is kept under constant review. I remain to be convinced, however, that a case has been made for wider loan funding at below market rates, which may simply serve to displace existing private sector funding with no overall economic benefit.

Enterprise

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will develop a strategy to provide greater emphasis on indigenous business rather than on inward investment and, if so, what will be its components and whether it will consult on the strategy.

Henry McLeish: I have recently asked officials to devise a Framework for Economic Development in Scotland. It will address a range of questions relating to Scotland's economic development and should provide an integrated and coherent framework within which to consider a range of economic policy questions such as the roles of inward investment and indigenous business. An extensive consultation exercise is currently underway. This involves face-to-face meetings between officials and a wide range of interested parties across Scotland and an open invitation to any other individuals or organisations, through a press release and consultation paper on the Scottish Executive website, to submit their views.

Enterprise

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding will be provided by the Business Growth Fund over each of the next 10 years and from what budget source; who will be responsible for administering this fund; what is the estimated costs for each of the next 10 years, and what gap the fund is designed to fill.

Henry McLeish: Funding   of £12 million is being provided under the Business Growth Fund over three years (£3 million in 1999-2000; £4 million in 2000-01; £5 million in 2001-02), for loans between £20,000 and £100,000. These funds have been allocated to both Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise who are responsible for the administration of the scheme. £2 million has already been committed under the fund. A decision on whether to extend the funding beyond the initial three years will be made towards the end of that period following a review of the impact of the scheme.

  Small companies can face difficulties in raising sufficient funding due to their size and risk profile. The Business Growth Fund seeks to address this by providing assistance to businesses which are commercially viable and have growth potential, but which are unable to access sufficient funding from established sources.

Enterprise

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in what way its mentoring scheme will differ from previous schemes, and (a) what is its estimated annual cost; (b) what will each mentor be paid; (c) who will choose mentors, and (d) from what business organisations it has taken advice regarding the scheme.

Henry McLeish: The introduction of a national mentoring scheme is a Programme for Government commitment, and we are on course to introduce Business Mentoring Scotland in April as planned. We hope to be able to announce details of the scheme within the next month or so.

Enterprise

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will measure the number of new businesses created in Scotland by reference to the number of VAT registered businesses and, if not, by what other means will the number of new businesses be measured.

Henry McLeish: There is no single indicator available to measure the number of new businesses created in Scotland. The Scottish Executive uses a number of indicators including VAT registration, New Business Statistics data produced jointly by Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Committee of Scottish Clearing Bankers, and the Scottish Executive’s own Annual Corporate Sector Analysis.

Enterprise

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider the introduction of the American policy of corporate venturing to promote growth of small businesses.

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive believes that corporate venturing can bring significant benefits to both small businesses and their larger corporate partners, and we want to encourage the establishment of more such relationships in Scotland. The Executive therefore fully supports the UK Government’s commitment to introduce corporate venturing tax incentives in this year’s Finance Bill and we have asked Scottish Enterprise to consider specific initiatives to help stimulate a culture of corporate venturing in Scotland.

Enterprise

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it has implemented since 1 July 1999 in relation to helping small businesses.

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive is committed to improving public sector support to small businesses. Through the Executive, and related agencies, we have introduced a number of measures that will have a positive impact on the small business community.

  New initiatives implemented since 1 July 1999 include: the Innovators Counselling and Advisory Service for Scotland which provides a specialist counselling service for Scotland’s inventors and small innovative firms; introduction of an e-commerce suppliers directory and SMART guides for users by Scottish Enterprise; the launch of Loan Action Scotland, an energy saving initiative which will allow small companies to adopt energy efficiency measures in the workplace; the Scottish Learning Network which will establish 500 "learning points" within small businesses; establishment of The Improving Regulation in Scotland Unit (IRIS) to assist with regulatory issues; and announcement of the formation of a Small Business Forum. To ensure direct and continuing dialogue between the Scottish Executive and the small business community as a whole, a range of other developments are also ongoing or in the pipeline including: a consultation on Scottish Tourism; the formation of a Scottish Manufacturing Strategy; Knowledge Economy consultation seminars; and the launch of a consultation document to help develop a framework for economic development in Scotland.

Environment

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been undertaken as to the incidence of wild fowl poisonings from lead shot in each of the last 20 years and what was the source of such research.

Sarah Boyack: The poisoning of wildfowl from lead is now accepted as a serious problem for many populations. Research has been undertaken which establishes the problem and investigates the particular causes of acute poisoning incidents. A number of key reports giving international summaries of the problem of leadshot poisoning in waterfowl are available and are listed below:

  Fawcett, D and van Vessen J (1995), Lead poisoning in Waterfowl: International update report 1995, Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Report No 252. JNCC, Peterborough.

  Kulvenhoven P and van Vessem J (1997), Lead poisoning in Waterbirds: International update report, unpublished Wetlands International Report.

  Mateo R Martinez-Vialta, A and Guitart R (1997), "Lead shot pellets in the Ebro Delta, Spain: densities in sediments and prevalence of exposure in waterfowl", Environmental Pollution 96, pp. 335-41.

  Pain D J (Editor) (1992), Lead Poisoning in Waterfowl. Proceedings of an International Workshop, Brussels, Belgium, 13-15 June 1991, IWRB Special Publication No 16.

  Scheuhammer A M and Norris S L (1995), A review of the environmental impacts of lead shot shell ammunition and lead fishing weights in Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, Occasional Paper No 88.

  More detailed research on this particular issue has been undertaken within the EU, UK and Scotland. The most relevant of which is:

  Mudge G P (1983), "The incidence and significance of ingested lead pellet poisoning in British Wildfowl", Biological Conservation, 27, pp. 33-372.

  Other studies include:

  Beck N and Ganval P (1987), "Ingestion de plombs de chasse par la Becassine des marais Gallinago gallinago et la Becassine sourde Lymnocryest minimus dans le nord-ouest de la France", Gibier Faune Sauvage/Game Wildlife: In press.

  Bellorse F C (1959), "Lead poisoning as a mortality factor in waterfowl populations III", Natural History Survey Bulletin, 27(3), pp. 235-88.

  Bowler, J M and Hugest B, (1997) Biological monitoring of lead shot replacement in the UK, final report of pilot study, unpublished Wetlands Advisory Service report to DoE, WWT, Slimbridge (in prep).

  Degtyarev A G (1996), Incident of lead shot ingestion in waterfowl and cranes of Yakutia, Ibid., pp. 25-27.

  Grand J B, Flint P L, Petersen M R and Moran C L (1998), "Effect of lead poisoning on spectacled elder survival rates", Journal of Wildlife Management, 62(3), pp. 1103-9.

  Hohman W L, Pritchert R D, Pacell R M, Woolington D W and Helm R (1990), "Influence of ingested lead on body mass of wintering canvasbacks", Journal of Wildlife Management, 54(2), pp. 211-15.

  Mateo R, Martinez-Vilalta A, Dolz J C, Bellure J, Serrano J M A, Guitart R (1994), "Estudio de la problematica del plumbismo en aves acuticas de diferentes humedales espanoles", ICON, pp. 196.

  Mateo R, Bellure Jm, Dolz J C, Agullar J M and Guitart R (1997), "An peizotic of lead poisoning in greater flamingos. Phoenicopterus ruber roseus in Spain", Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 33, pp. 131-4.

  Mateo R, Molina R, Grifols J and Gruitart R (1997),"Lead poisoning in a free range griffon vulture Gyps fulvus", Vet Rec, 140, pp. 47-8.

  Pain D J (1992), "Lead poisoning of waterfowl: a review" in Lead poisoning in waterfowl (editor D J Pain), IWRB Special Publication No 16, Slimbridge UK.

  Spray C J and Milne H (1988), "The incidence of lead poisoning among Whooper and Mute Swans Cyngus cygnus and Color in Scotland", Biological Conservation, 44, pp. 265-81.

Environment

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been undertaken into the blood levels of trapped wild fowl.

Sarah Boyack: Lead levels in wildfowl blood have been investigated in a range of studies throughout the world. These are listed below:

  Anderson W L and Havera S P (1985), "Blood lead, protoporphyrin and ingested shot for detecting lead poisoning in wildfowl", Wildlife Society Bulletin, 13, pp. 26-31.

  Dieter M P and Finley M T (1978), "Delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase enzyme activity in blood, brain and liver of lead-dosed ducks", Environmental Resources, 19, pp. 127-35.

  Hall S L and Fisher F M (1985), "Lead concentrations in tissues of marsh birds: relationships of feeding habitats and grit preference to spent shot ingestion", Bulletin of Environmental Contaminant Toxicology, 35, pp. 1-8.

  Madsen H H T, Kkjorn T, Jorgensen P J and Grandjean P (1988), "Blood lead levels in patients with lead shot retained in the appendix", Acta Radiol, 29, pp. 745-6.

  Osweller G D, van Geldeer G A and Buck W B (1978), "Epiderminology of lead poisoning in animals" in Toxicity of heavy metals in the environment (editor F W Dehme), Marcel Dekker, New York.

  In Scotland, when acute poisoning incidents occur, investigations into the particular cause and poisoning level are carried out.

Environment

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any evidence of dead birds being washed ashore in wardened coastal reserves or elsewhere.

Sarah Boyack: I am advised that dead birds are regularly washed up along the coast. The cause of bird mortality will vary depending on the location and time of year.

Environment

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional measures are being proposed to prevent the causes of pollution identified by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in the report Improving Scotland’s Water Environment which the Minister for Transport and the Environment launched last year.

Sarah Boyack: The existing water pollution control legislation has been very effective at addressing problems of industrial and sewage pollution, but SEPA has identified the need for additional statutory powers which would secure further water quality improvements.

  A consultation paper will be released today on new regulatory powers for SEPA to prevent and control water pollution. Under the proposed regulations SEPA will be able to serve anti-pollution works notices on polluters or potential polluters requiring them to take action to clean up pollution or reduce the risk of incidents.

  These powers provide a more direct and effective means for SEPA to prevent and mitigate pollution than its existing powers to carry out anti-pollution works itself and then recover the costs from the person responsible.

Equal Opportunities

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide clarification to local authorities regarding what is required in respect of taxi operators under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Mr Frank McAveety: : We intend to consult with local authorities, the taxi trade and other interested parties on the content of the proposed taxi regulations resulting from the 1995 Act during the course of this year.

Finance

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was raised last year in payments and charges accruing to Scottish Executive departments and agencies and what share of this was passed to Her Majesty’s Treasury.

Mr Jack McConnell: Receipts in 1998-99 were £1,661 million. Of this £1,374 million was retained by departments.

  These figures are provisional until the 1998-99 Appropriation Accounts are approved and published by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Finance

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to ring-fence any additional resources allocated to Scotland under the Barnett formula as a result of an above-inflation increase in tobacco taxes in order that this funding can be directly applied to the National Health Service.

Mr Jack McConnell: : I refer the member to the answer I gave to question S1W-3868 on Friday 21 January.

Finance

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list, for the last period for which information is available, the record of each local authority in Scotland for payment of debt, showing the average number of days within which each local authority has paid its suppliers and other creditors; whether it considers that these records are satisfactory and, if not, whether it will take steps to ensure that those local authorities which are not settling debts timeously do so; and after what period of time it estimates that such steps would result in all local authorities settling their debts timeously.

Mr Jack McConnell: Payment arrangements are a matter between local authorities and individual suppliers. The latest information on the percentage of invoices that authorities pay within 30 days is published by the Accounts Commission in their Annual Report Comparing the Performance of Scottish Councils 1997-98 . As noted in my response to question S1O-332, I spoke to Councillor Norman Murray, president of CoSLA, asking him to draw to the attention of councils the requirements of the Late Payment of Commercial Debt (Interest) Act 1998 and the importance of paying their bills on time. CoSLA wrote to all local authorities advising them of this on 1 October.

Finance

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received written representations from the Scottish Council of Development and Industry opposing the decision to abandon the policy of a common UK non-domestic poundage and in particular to set a provisional poundage which is 10.1% higher than that in England.

Mr Jack McConnell: Yes.

Finance

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the amount each local authority expected to raise in capital receipts for the year 1999-2000.

Mr Jack McConnell: The information requested is set out below.

  


Forecast Capital 

  Receipts expected to be Raised in Financial Year 1999-20001,2,3 

  (£000’s) 

  




Scotland 

  

392,155 

  



Aberdeen City 

  

23,298 

  



Aberdeenshire 

  

13,720 

  



Angus 

  

6,848 

  



Argyll and Bute 

  

4,455 

  



Clackmannanshire 

  

4,237 

  



Dumfries & Galloway 

  

8,252 

  



Dundee City 

  

10,175 

  



East Ayrshire 

  

7,960 

  



East Dunbartonshire 

  

5,359 

  



East Lothian 

  

6,105 

  



East Renfrewshire 

  

3,011 

  



City of Edinburgh 

  

18,496 

  



Eilean Siar 

  

3,340 

  



Falkirk 

  

12,460 

  



Fife 

  

22,150 

  



Glasgow City 

  

59,541 

  



Highland 

  

18,790 

  



Inverclyde 

  

5,883 

  



Midlothian 

  

8,356 

  



Moray 

  

5,898 

  



North Ayrshire 

  

7,740 

  



North Lanarkshire 

  

29,009 

  



Orkney Islands 

  

4,464 

  



Perth and Kinross 

  

7,724 

  



Renfrewshire 

  

9,323 

  



Scottish Borders 

  

4,977 

  



Shetland 

  

7,125 

  



South Ayrshire 

  

7,108 

  



South Lanarkshire 

  

34,417 

  



Stirling 

  

5,697 

  



West Dunbartonshire 

  

4,564 

  



West Lothian 

  

21,673 

  



  Source: As reported by authorities on the statistical return Capital Payments and their Financing, CPR FIN 3, and by councils in the return, Housing Capital Payments and Capital Receipts 1999-2000, as at 30 September 1999.

  Notes:

  1. Figures include both housing and non-housing capital receipts forecasts.

  2. Data are the forecast position to 31 March 2000, as reported by authorities at 30 September 1999.

  3. Receipts include EC receipts and notional receipts.

Food

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those local authorities and health boards which encourage schools and hospitals in their respective areas to use Scottish meat.

Ross Finnie: This information is not held centrally. However, the likelihood is most of the Scottish Health Boards, NHS Trusts and hospitals will obtain their meat from only Scottish sources. Officials from my Department wrote to all Scottish local authorities in November last year highlighting some of the benefits of home-produced pork, lamb and beef.

Food

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the current constraints on pig farmers regarding the disposal of meat and bonemeal as a result of the BSE crisis.

Ross Finnie: The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) reviewed the ban on the use of porcine MBM as recently as November 1999. The Committee concluded that a relaxation of the feed ban in the UK to allow the inclusion of porcine MBM in poultry feed could not be supported on scientific grounds, reasoning that the comprehensive feed ban in place in the UK had been a critical factor in breaking the cycle of infection in the BSE epidemic. The Scottish Executive has accepted this advice.

Health

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it proposes to take forward its policy in the area of mental health.

Iain Gray: The Executive is addressing mental health on a broad front, including the development of services for those who need care and treatment; promoting mental wellbeing by improving life circumstances through our policies on social inclusion, education, employment, the environment and housing; and by modernising the legislative framework.

  As part of the policy development process, the Minister for Health and Community Care and I have arranged a meeting on 31 January of major interests in the field for an exchange of views on mental health issues.

Health

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has recently provided to Fife Health Board about the development of Fife Acute Health Trusts business plan.

Iain Gray: The document submitted to the Health Department was a draft of an outline business case: the Department’s response explained in some detail the process to be followed to produce a substantive business case and encouraged the Health Board to ensure its specific proposals were consistent with the conclusions reached in its ongoing overall review of services.

Health

Alex Johnstone (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what timescale it envisages for the withdrawal of the requirement for the removal of spinal chords from ewe carcasses.

Iain Gray: The Executive will continue to frame its statutory public health controls on the basis of the precautionary principle, underpinned by the latest available medical and scientific advice which is reviewed regularly. It is not possible to anticipate when such advice might change.

Health

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many assaults were carried out against NHS staff in each of 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99 and what measures are being implemented to reduce the incidence of such assaults.

Susan Deacon: Information on the number of assaults is not held centrally. As part of the recently published Occupational Health and Safety Service Strategy for NHSiS staff, employers are required to implement policies based on risk assessment aimed at reducing violent incidents in the workplace. Linked to this strategy, £0.5 million has been made available to NHSiS employers to introduce new measures to support this initiative. To assist employers to develop policies, Guideline Development Groups have been set up under the NHS in Scotland Partnership Forum to provide guidelines and model policies for use across Scotland on personal safety and harassment.

Homelessness

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what specific projects have been set up to date within the Rough Sleepers Initiative for meeting the particular needs of disabled people.

Jackie Baillie: One bid is currently under consideration; this is the first such proposal put forward by a local authority for funding under the Rough Sleepers Initiative.

Homelessness

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken by either the Minister for Communities or the Homelessness Task Force to establish the extent of homelessness among disabled people and provide an informed basis for encouraging project bids to tackle the problems.

Jackie Baillie: The Code of Guidance on Homelessness already makes provision for disabled homeless people to be regarded as being in priority need for the purposes of the homeless persons legislation. The operation of this and other aspects of the legislation come within the terms of reference of the Homelessness Task Force, which I chair. The Task Force will consider whether further action is required to tackle the cases of homeless people with specific needs, including those who are disabled.

Housing

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information and statistics it has on the number of incidences where local authorities are unable to upgrade their tenants’ homes due to adjoining owner-occupiers refusing to give permission or being unable to afford to participate in the upgrading.

Mr Frank McAveety: : No such information is collected. However, we are aware of the problem, particularly through our discussions with councils on new housing partnerships. The forthcoming Housing Bill will include provisions relating to repairs by owner-occupiers.

Housing

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish for each of the past five years (a) the total number of evictions raised by local authorities and (b) the number of tenants in such actions who purchased their home from the local authority under the Right to Buy scheme and thus avoided eviction.

Ms Wendy Alexander: This information is not held centrally.

Housing

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its plans to introduce probationary tenancies are necessary given existing legislative measures to curb anti-social behaviour by tenants including powers to evict, provisions contained within the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and powers under section 48 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Yes. Changes are necessary to provide a mechanism to offer probationary tenancies to former tenants who have been guilty of anti-social behaviour. This is not possible under existing legislation.

Housing

Gordon Jackson (Glasgow Govan) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are proposed to tackle the ongoing problem of damp housing in Glasgow.

Ms Wendy Alexander: In the current year, Glasgow City Council’s capital programme for its own houses amounts to some £55 million of which the Council expects to spend around £20 million on measures which will tackle dampness. Glasgow will also benefit from the new Warm Deal, introduced on 1 July 1999, which provides a comprehensive package of insulation measures up to £500 for low income households. It is the largest scheme of its kind ever in Scotland. Substantial resources have been allocated for the Warm Deal: £38 million for the years 1999-2000–2001-02. 100,000 households will benefit over the lifetime of this Administration.

  In addition, under our New Housing Partnership initiative, the Council is exploring the options for a transfer of its council housing into community ownership. This would release substantial resources to improve the stock and tackle dampness. To date, Glasgow has been awarded new housing partnership resources of £15.5 million. A further £15 million is earmarked for 1999-2000.

Information Technology

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Executive will take a leadership role in devising a strategy for Scotland to take advantage, socially and economically, of the opportunities offered by new and emerging information and communications technologies.

Donald Dewar: We are doing so. The Executive’s Digital Scotland initiative was debated here on 18 November last year. I believe there is general support for the initiative. It draws together a great deal of important work across the Executive and elsewhere in the public and private sectors in Scotland. We made clear in the debate that our aim is to ensure that Scotland exploits the full potential of the world-wide digital communications revolution and does so within timescales that give and retain real competitive advantage. That remains the case.

Justice

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to publish, as part of its regular Statistical Bulletins, the number of Careless Driving Offences where a death has occurred.

Mr Jim Wallace: : We regularly publish statistics on road traffic accidents and motor vehicle offences. Our statistics on offences reflect associated legal definitions. In the case of deaths, the offences for which statistics are provided are "causing death by dangerous driving" and "causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs". There is no offence of causing death by careless driving and there are no plans to disaggregate the statistics on careless driving further.

Planning

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it expects the National Planning Policy Guideline No 8 to be observed at all times or whether it considers that exceptions to these guidelines can be made and, if so, under what circumstances would adherence to them be waived.

Sarah Boyack: Planning decisions should be made in accordance with the provisions of the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. National Planning Policy Guideline 8 is an important material consideration, which indicates that planning permission should be refused where developments are not consistent with the development plan and cannot meet all the considerations listed in paragraph 45 of the Guideline.

Police

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support is given to Glasgow to meet the extra policing and other costs generated by national events, such as international football games, which take place within the city.

Mr Jim Wallace: The formula for determining the allocation of GAE for each police force is primarily based on policing strengths. The formula is presently being reviewed. However, the 2000-01 GAE settlement took into account a needs assessment by individual forces.

Poverty

Ms Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to tackle social and economic inequality in Glasgow and reduce the gap between poverty levels in Glasgow and other parts of Scotland.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Executive recognises the particular problems facing Glasgow. We are already providing over £1.8 billion from the Scottish Block this year to various agencies in the city. In addition, we have announced that a special deprivation payment of almost £3 million will be made to Glasgow, as part of the local government settlement for 2000-01.

  We all know that there are no quick fixes to the cycle of disadvantage that includes unemployment, low skills and poverty, but through its participation in the Glasgow Alliance and its support for the city’s Social Inclusion Partnerships, the Executive is committed to a long term programme of concerted action. This includes action to address homelessness, drug misuse and poor health, to promote economic development, to tackle low educational achievement, to expand childcare, and provide a radical solution to Glasgow’s acute housing problems. By joining up and delivering on these policies, we aim to create a framework within which all Glaswegians have a decent quality of life and the opportunity to prosper.

Rural Affairs

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following the review of the functions of the Crofting Commission, proposals will be rejected if there are found to be serious concerns in the crofting community.

Ross Finnie: The interests of stakeholders will be an important criterion to be taken into account. The other criteria will be how far the proposals help deliver government policy, how far they maximise accountability, and how far they maximise efficiency, effectiveness and value for money.

Rural Affairs

Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what was the total number of applications for assistance under the Countryside Premium Scheme which were (a) received; (b) approved; (c) received with the maximum number of priority points and (d) approved with the maximum number of priority points in the last five years.

Ross Finnie: There have been three rounds of Countryside Premium Scheme (CPS) applications (in 1997, 1998 and 1999). The data requested for these years is set out in the table below.

  


Year 

  

Total applications 

  received 

  

Total applications 

  approved 

  

Category A* Applications 

  

Category A* Applications 

  Approved 

  



1997 

  

915 

  

476 

  

126 

  

125** 

  



1998 

  

951 

  

504 

  

641 

  

504 

  



1999 

  

726 

  

326 

  

692 

  

326 

  



  * The top category (Category A) covers applications with four or five priority habitats.

  ** In 1997 all valid Category A applications were approved.

Rural Affairs

Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Rural Affairs will make a statement on the continuation of the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme and the Environmentally Sensitive Area Scheme after 31 December 1999.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive announced on 3 December that it would continue to accept and process applications for both schemes. There will however be a delay in granting approvals until the Scottish Rural Development Plan is approved by the European Commission. This is a temporary measure and the Executive remains committed to the aims of both schemes. The Scottish Executive will play its full part in the negotiations to achieve approval of the Scottish Plan.

Rural Affairs

Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what is the total amount of funding committed by the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department to the Countryside Premium Scheme in the current financial year and how this compares with the previous five years in this or equivalent schemes.

Ross Finnie: The funding committed to the Countryside Premium Scheme (CPS) in 1999-2000 is £7.169 million; £6.029 is to ongoing commitments and £1.140 to new commitments. This is in addition to an ongoing commitment of £0.441 million to participants remaining in previous schemes. The funding committed in previous financial years to the CPS and equivalent schemes is set out in the table below.

  


Financial Year 

  

Ongoing Commitments 

  

New Commitments 

  

Total Funding Committed 

  



1994-95 

  

- 

  

£0.014 million 

  

£0.014 million 

  



1995-96 

  

£0.014 million 

  

£0.198 million 

  

£0.212 million 

  



1996-97 

  

£0.212 million 

  

£0.181 million 

  

£0.393 million 

  



1997-98 

  

£0.393 million 

  

£1.571 million 

  

£1.964 million 

  



1998-99 

  

£3.900 million* 

  

£1.771 million 

  

£5.671 million 

  



  *This figure is not the same as the previous year’s total because the annual level of CPS payments depends on the content of the plans.

  Equivalent schemes in operation prior to the launch of the CPS in 1997 were the Habitats Scheme (HS) and Heather Moorland Scheme (HMS). These were closed to new applications at the end of 1996.

Transport

Alex Fergusson (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Deputy Minister with responsibility for Tourism has consulted with the Minister for Transport and the Environment on the subject of signposting for Wigtown, Scotland’s National Book Town, at the junction of the M74 and A75 at Gretna.

Sarah Boyack: The Deputy Minister’s officials have consulted my officials.

Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will comment on its proposed changes to trunk road management and maintenance.

Sarah Boyack: New arrangements are required once the existing contracts for the trunk road premium units expire on 31 March 2001. I explained my proposals in the answer I gave to Karen Gillon on 24 December 1999 (S1W-3538).

Transport

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive why its response to The Road Ahead consultation paper of April 1999 was published on the afternoon of 24 December 1999.

Sarah Boyack: I reached my decision on future arrangements on 23 December and arranged for that to be published as soon as possible thereafter.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Cross-Party Groups

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what efforts the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has made to publicise to the general public the new regulations on the operation of cross-party groups.

Sir David Steel: The Standards Committee’s report on the Regulation of Cross-Party Groups , which sets out the regulations, was published on 30 November 1999. In keeping with normal practice, the report was placed on the Parliament’s website on that date. Most of the partner libraries in each of the 73 Scottish Parliamentary constituencies provide public access to Internet facilities.

  Details of Committee reports also appear in the Business Bulletin and in the publication What’s Happening in the Scottish Parliament (WHISP), copies of which are available for public inspection in many of the partner libraries and for purchase in Stationery Office outlets. Journalists were notified prior to the publication of the report.

  The Regulations on Cross-Party Groups were the subject of a debate in the full Parliament on 15 December 1999. Advance notice of that debate appeared in the Business Bulletin and in WHISP and the record of the debate appeared in the Official Report for that day. Copies of the Official Report are also available for public inspection in many of the partner libraries and for purchase in Stationery Office outlets.

  Parliamentary staff are currently looking at the possibility of producing a fact sheet on Cross-Party Groups to be made publicly available in the Parliament’s Visitor Centre.